The Greenhouse Effect refers to a warning of the earth's
atEosphete due to an lncreage ln the concentlatlon of carbon dloxlde.
As a background for the discusslon today, the first vugraph outlines
the basis for the Greenhouse Effect.
The earth recelves energy ln the fora of both v1s1b1e and
ultraviolet radlatlon fron the sun. soae of this radiatlon 1s reflected
back into space, soDe 1s absorbed by the atEosphere but nost ls absorbed at the earthrs surface. Tte earth ln turns reeolts energy in
the form of lnfrared radlatlon toward space. Cerbon dloxlde and other
atEospherlc coostl.tuents absorb part of the Lnfrared radiatlon. Thls
abgorbed energy lrarus the atnosphere. Therefore, higher carbon dloxlde
concentratlons result ln a nore lapld absotptlon of the outgolng lnfrared radl-atlon and waraer teDperatures near the earthrs surface. In Ey
talk today I am plannlng to dlscuss:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
The Source aDd Projected Magnltude
Increase ln the Atmosphere
of the
CO2
The Global Teupelsture Increase Which Can Be Expected
Frou Hl.gher C02 Concentlatlons
Potentlal
tule Increase
The
Problems
Arlslng Froo a Global
Tempera-
Research Needed to Establlsh rhe Validlty and Si.gnlficance of Projected Increases of CO2 in the AtEosphere.
ls derlved fron followlng recent llterature iD thls area
froo talks lrlth some of the leadlng research people 1o the fleld.
My lnforrnatloa
and
L
The Solr"ce and Projected Magnltude
Atnosphere
of the
CO?
Increase in the
Slnee 1958, C02 has been uonitored at a nr:ober of reDote eltes
nhleh are ftee froo locsl Lnputs (Vugraph 2), These are polnt Ba!ror,,
Alaska; so'e Snedlsh alrcraft fllghts; Mauna Loa, Eawali; Aoerican Samoa
end the South Po1e. Ttre calbon dloxlde concentratlon has been for:nd to
be increaslng rather uulforroly at all loca!1ons wlth the South pole
measureDents rathe! lagglng those lD the Notthern l{eulsphere.
AtDospherlc dcientists generally attrlbute thls grovth in C02
to the coDbustlon of fossll fue1. A prlnclpal reaeon for this Ls that
fossll fuel coEbustlon ls the only readlly ldentlflable gource whlch ls
(1) growlng at the 6ase tat.e, (2) large enough !o account for the obeerved lncreases, and (3) capable of affectlng the Northera tseolsphele
flrst. If thls assulaptlon regardlng the orlgln of carbon dloxlde 1s